A new arrival
by Literaturefangirl
Summary: A young Autobot medic crashes on Earth in an escape pod after fleeing from a group of Decepticons. Team Prime find and rescue this bot and take him back to their base. This story follows the adventures of this Autobot named Rivet during the seasons of Transformers Prime.
1. Chapter One: Crashing down to Earth

**A new arrival**

Chapter One

_**Crashing down to Earth**_

* * *

Long after the Great War between the heroic Autobots and brutal Decepticons, and Cybertron being declared a barren wasteland, there were few whom still held hope. A group of these few were the crew of the aging cargo ship Shard, travelling to and from Cybertron, delivering that precious fuel of life: Energon. This is where our story begins. Though the beginning is tragic, it is only the beginning for one Autobot who was intended for higher designs by Primus himself.  
The crew was mostly young and inexperienced. They were brought online long after Cybertron was abandoned, they were unwilling to accept that their home was forever lost to them. So against all odds they forged the Shard and sought about finding caches of energon in hopes the power would aid in its repairs. They had just collected their latest load of fuel when fate chose that moment to enact Primus's will. The crew suddenly found their ship under siege by rogue Decepticons. The Captain already knowing the end result ordered the ship abandoned. But she knew they all wouldn't survive to see another cycle. Quickly she rushed down to the racks and roused all she found, ordering them to take a pod and escape.  
She herself was about to leave, when she realized that her friend among the crew was missing. Going below decks she found him tinkering with their energon. He turned to her hurried entrance, surprised, that she was here to visit him. He smiled until she ordered him to evacuate. When he pressured her with his asking she responded rather loudly.  
"The Cons are attacking the supply ship!"  
There was a flurry of explosions above decks, along with several cries for help. The Captain's friend, being a Medic, wanted to rush above lay the con's low and cover his fallen brethren. If the Captain wasn't holding him back. She turned him to face her, and pushed him towards the aft escape pod.

"We can't fight much longer… [BLAST]… AAARGH!"  
The Decepticons had breached the cargo hold's security systems and were pouring in like ants. The Medic desperately raced to his partner crying her name. In a last ditch effort the Captain used her special ability to open a space bridge, to bridge her friend to the pod. This sealed, with enough energon to keep him alive for several cycles.

"SIREN!"  
His cry fell on deaf ears as the pod prepared to launch. The Medic easily hacked the systems attempting to get out and assist her. He was a Medic, and he'd be damned if he couldn't help those in need, especially those he cared for most.

"ESCAPE POD LAUNCH OVERRIDE ALPHA!"

The pod sealed its space travel locks and launched the last thing the Medic saw was his Captain smiling, with a big hole blown right thru her chassis.  
Siren turned and aimed her cannon at the cargo.  
"Go to Unicron, Decepticon scum."  
[BLAST! BLAST! BLAST!]  
{BOOM!}  
The explosion rocked the pod farther into space; the Medic looked around frantically as pods with his friend were incinerated in the ensuing fireball. Just as he thought his time to join the Well of Sparks had come, the pod's primary engine fired launching him farther into deep space, with the pain of losing his friends, Siren, and his home. The pod gently put him into stasis as the energon inside began providing its occupant with life blood as it drifted aimlessly through the cosmos.

"The Cons are attacking the supply ship!"

"…we can't fight much longer… [BLAST]… AAARGH!"

"SIREN!"

"… take some energon cubes and save yourself."

"But Siren..."

"ESCAPE POD LAUNCH OVERRIDE ALPHA!"

[BLAST! BLAST! BLAST!]

(After countless cycles of stasis the pod reached its destination; Earth. )

" ESCAPE POD AT 40 % INTEGRITY."

"COLLISSION IMMINENT, PREPARE FOR IMPACT"

[CRASH!]

The escape pod crashed on Earth and exploded spectacularly due to the remaining energon cubes present in the pod.  
Shrapnel flew everywhere, some embedding themselves in the Transformer that had been occupying the pod. He lay there on the ground clutching his frame in a faulty attempt to stop the bleeding. Crawling slowly away from the flames raging near him, he slumped against a tree and looked at his injury, hissed, and covered it again.

'In retrospect maybe taking some energon cubes for the trip wasn't such a great idea.' The unknown Transformer thought with a sardonic smile on his face as he slowly shut his optics, his head leaning over and gently landing in the dirt as blazes from the explosion died down around him.

Meanwhile in the Autobot base, Ratchet was working in his laboratory when a signal appeared on the main computer screen. Ratchet stopped what he was doing and checked the Hub.

"Optimus, I'm picking up a weak Autobot and energon signature." Ratchet announced to Optimus Prime.

"Current location?" Optimus asked.  
"3 clicks away from the base." Ratchet replied.

"Understood."

"Bumblebee set a ground bridge; Arcee and Bulkhead go with Ratchet to scout the area. It may be a trap.  
But if my suspicions are correct, there could be an injured Autobot in need of medical attention."

A ground bridge opened, the three Autobots entered it quickly.

The three Autobots arrived at the co-ordinates.

A thick, smoky trail could be observed from the wreckage.  
Arcee scanned the area and found a red and white, inert form among some debris.

"Over there." She pointed in the direction of the Autobot.

Ratchet rushed over to the Autobot while Arcee and Bulkhead covered him.

"Oh, Primus." Ratchet muttered.

The Autobot was heavily injured to say the least.  
Half of his faceplate was burnt, both of his optics were cracked, he was bleeding on his neck and had a large piece of shrapnel imbedded in the left of his frame.

"Bumblebee open up a ground bridge, Bulkhead carry him gently."  
Ratchet ordered.

A ground bridge then materialized.  
The four Autobots entered the ground bridge.

Once back at the base Bulkhead and Ratchet walked over to the Medical bay.

"Bulkhead put him on that table. GENTLY!"  
Bulkhead complied and gently put the Autobot down on a surgical table.  
Ratchet inserted an energon drip into the Autobot's servo and turned off his pain receptors and induced him to recharge.

Ratchet applied pressure to the wound to minimize bleeding, irrigated the wound in the Autobot's frame, and pulled the shrapnel pieces out slowly and gently.  
Ratchet knew that he had to act fast because the shrapnel had hit a major artery; he sucked up the energon with a tube, sutured the artery and welded the frame back together. It had been a time consuming procedure.

Now that the major spark threatening injuries had been dealt with, Ratchet inspected the Autobot for small wounds.

The Autobot had a small cut on his neck dribbling with energon. Both of his optics were cracked.  
Ratchet peered at the wound on his neck and proceeded to clean it up.  
Unfortunately Ratchet had underestimated how long to induce the Autobot to recharge for.  
Suddenly said Autobot woke up with a hostile look on his face. He lifted his frame from the table, brought out a sabre from his forearm and tried to stab Ratchet.

Despite his old age, Ratchet still had admirable reflexes and gripped the Autobot's servo before he could administer a cut, let alone a lethal blow.  
Considering that the Decepticons had been one of the last bots the Autobot probably encountered and that his vision was impaired, the Autobot could have been forgiven for thinking that Ratchet was a Decepticon.

"If you're going to kill me, it would be most effective, if you cut the carotid artery, just under my audio sensor." Ratchet advised calmly.

The Autobot frowned, this isn't how Decepticons speak, he must be an Autobot, the Autobot thought as he retracted the blade.

"That's it, take it easy now, you're in safe hands in an Autobot base. Now would you PLEASE let me do my work? Thank you." Ratchet reassured the Autobot.

"…I'm sorr…" the Autobot uttered before collapsing back on the table.  
Ratchet then proceeded to fix the Autobot's optics and induced the Autobot to recharge for a longer period of time.

Once Ratchet had fixed all of the Autobot's wounds to the best of his abilities, he walked away from him and shook his head with contempt.

"Humph, bots these days have no respect. Back in my day we NEVER attacked the Medics."

* * *

**Thank you for reading and reviewing this story and a special thanks to Michael-656 for proof reading and refining this chapter and for writing most of the introduction.  
**


	2. Chapter Two: Recuperation and briefing

**A new arrival**

Chapter Two

_**Recuperation and Briefing**_

* * *

After a solar cycle of recharging the unknown Autobot had recuperated and was well enough to stay conscious.  
On this particular morning, Ratchet decided to check in on his patient.

"How are you feeling today?" Ratchet inquired.

"I'm feeling better than yesterday, that's for sure." The Autobot answered.

"Actually that was two solar ago, you've been recharging since yesterday" Ratchet corrected.

"What's a solar cycle?" The Autobot asked.

"Oh that's right I forgot to tell you, you are on planet Earth and on Earth a solar cycle is the equivalent to one Cybertronian day, when you live long enough on Earth you start to use their terms more often." Ratchet explained.

The Autobot simply nodded as he processed all the new information he had been told.  
After thinking for a nano-klik, the Autobot had thought of a question.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes?"

"What is your name?"

"My name is Ratchet." Ratchet replied.

"Thank you for rescuing and fixing me Ratchet."

"You're welcome, and what is YOUR name?"

"Rivet."

"Well "Rivet" thank YOU, for not taking me off-line." Ratchet thanked him sarcastically but not unkindly.

"Awww slag, I'm sorry... " Rivet exclaimed as he put both of his servos to his face.

"Don't worry about it, I was only teasing. I won't mention it again" Ratchet gave Rivet one of his rare smiles.

Rivet smiled back, it felt good. He hadn't smiled since after the Decepticons had attacked the energon supply ship.

"Are you well enough to walk? Ratchet asked.

"Probably not, I would rather not risk it. My chassis received some shock and may have caused some systemic and micro internal damage, which may have rendered my servos unstable and could cause further injuries if I fell." Rivet explained.

"Hmmm, are you a Medical student by any chance Rivet?" Ratchet asked curiously

"Yes I am. I was completing the final year of my studies until the 'incident'." Rivet answered ruefully and turned his head away from Ratchet.

Ratchet understood, he opened up a com-link with Optimus told him what he had learned and told him that he could proceed.

"Well now that you are awake, our leader will want to meet you and brief you on our current situation." Ratchet changed the subject.

Optimus Prime then approached Rivet.

"Greetings young Autobot, my name is Optimus Prime." Optimus greeted Rivet solemnly

"Greetings Optimus Prime, my name is Rivet." Rivet greeted back.

"This is our base of operations, stationed on planet Earth. Our mission is to protect this planet and its inhabitants against Megatron and his forces." Optimus gestured to the building they were occupying.

"I understand." Rivet acknowledged.

"When you are well enough, you will be able to assist us in our efforts to stop Megatron and with sufficient training you will be a valuable Medic and ally."

Rivet nodded and Optimus then walked away.

Then a ground bridge opened up and Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee emerged from it.  
They noticed Rivet and walked up to him.

"Hey, how ya doin'?" Bulkhead greeted Rivet warmly.

"Not bad and yourself?"

"I'm good. I'm Bulkhead by the way, this is Arcee and Bumblebee." Bulkhead introduced himself and the others.

"I'm pleased to meet you all."  
The Autobots then chatted with Rivet for a while and walked away to allow Rivet recharge.

It might not be Medical school but I have a feeling I'm going to like it here on 'Earth', Rivet thought with a smile before recharging.


	3. Chapter Three: Meeting the natives

**A new arrival**

Chapter Three

_**Meeting the Natives**_

* * *

Taking off one solar cycle from where we last left Rivet; Rivet was feeling well enough to walk.

Ratchet was surveying the main computer screen and then opened up a ground bridge to allow Bumblebee, Arcee and Bulkhead to enter the base. Rivet was observing the process.

What happened next came as a surprise to Rivet; the three Autobots had strange companions with them.

They were small and pink colored without any visible protective shells. They were unlike anything Rivet had ever seen before.  
Rivet was very curious to find out what these companions were, he then approached Ratchet and asked him a question.

"Ratchet what are those creatures?" Rivet asked.

"They are called "humans"; they are the indigenous species of this planet."  
Ratchet couldn't help but laugh at Rivet's obvious confliction spreading over his face.  
"Ha-ha I know exactly how you feel, that's how I felt like when I first saw them. Don't worry you get used to them quickly." Ratchet replied.

Rivet nodded and turned his head to observe the humans.

"They are mostly harmless, until they decide to play their instruments or watch the television at A…VERY…HIGH….VOLUME" Ratchet raised his voice to get Miko's attention.

Miko was chatting with Bulkhead, when she heard Ratchet's voice.

"Hey I wasn't even… Oh cool! New Autobot." Miko yelled and then ran up to Rivet.

"Good luck." Ratchet teased and left Rivet on his own with Miko, Rafael and Jack as he looked into his microscope to analyze a prototype substance of the synthetic energon.

"Ratchet!" Rivet complained.

"I'm Miko, this is Jack and that's Raf." Miko introduced herself and her friends with as much composure that she could muster.

"...Hi, I'm Rivet." he said the first thing that popped into his CPU.  
As Miko admired Rivet, she noticed Rivet's helicopter blades.

"You transform into a helicopter? That is SO cool! Will you take me for a ride some time? How fast can you go?"

"Uh… yes I do and sure I will, I'll tell you later." Rivet attempted to answer the stream of Miko's questions.

"With your ability of flight, you'll definitely have an advantage over the Decepticons." Rafael remarked.

"Yeah! You can go kick Starscream's tailpipe!" Miko cheered.

"Hey what weapons do you have?" Jack asked curiously.

Before Rivet could answer, Ratchet answered that question for Jack from his laboratory.

"I can answer that; he's got a very sharp sabre concealed in his forearm."  
He rumbled out absently as he continued viewing the substance and jotting notes down.

"How did he…" Jack began to ask.

"That's another story for another time, I'll tell you about it later." Rivet quickly and calmly intervened before the

conversation could get ugly.

"I'm going to study with Ratchet now but I'll see you all later." Rivet addressed the kids and excused himself.

Rivet went to Ratchet's laboratory. Ratchet was jotting down more notes.

"Hey I thought you weren't going to mention that again." Rivet stated to Ratchet.

"I didn't say that you did anything and they don't know how I knew your weapons." Ratchet denied innocently.

Rivet grumbled.

"I was only testing you. I wanted to see how you would react in a difficult situation. You did well and I promise I'll never hint or mention it again." Ratchet looked at Rivet in the eye and promised sincerely.

Rivet smiled at Ratchet.

Before the smile could get infectious Ratchet changed the subject.

"Now you told me that your final year of study was interrupted, so while we wait for some Decepticon activity, I will be your teacher. What was the last thing you learned?"

"I was recently studying the required procedures necessary for an energon transfusion."  
Rivet answered and the two Medics began the next lesson.


	4. Chapter Four: Ghosts of the past

**A new arrival**

Chapter Four

_**Ghosts of the past**_

* * *

Guest writer for today's chapter is Michael-656. He wrote the introduction.

Starting from Bulkhead doing a slam dunk, the rest of the writing is mine.

* * *

Rivet sighed, and stretched his servos. It was just another quiet and peaceful day at the base.  
"RIV! WATCH OUT!"  
Four nanoclicks later he found his dental plates kissing a metal ball made of assorted pieces of scrap metal.  
How his fellows talked him into playing a game of 'robo-ball' was beyond him.  
Salvaging what little was left of his dignity he picked himself up. There were four players, so it would be a fair game. He and Arcee against Bulkhead and Bumblebee. So far Arcee's quickness was making sure they didn't lose. Rivet felt totally out of place.  
"Guess that makes it our ball."  
Bulk rumbled. The kids and even Ratchet and Optimus were standing by as crowd and fans for both. Special Agent Fowler claimed he was just waiting for a report, but he was easily rooting for Bulk's team. Rivet didn't hold it to him; they were all probably playing favorite. Some just more than others.  
Arcee grudgingly handed it off to him. Rivet took it as his cue to guard the post. Bulkhead chatted a little with Bee, and then the game continued.  
Bee faked a rush to the hoop, distracting Arcee. Bulkhead raced to Rivet, and suddenly he jumped up. Yelling as he dove.  
"Time to wreck it!"

Suddenly Rivet found himself frozen to the spot. Bulkhead slammed the ball into the hoop, performing a perfect slam dunk.

Bulkhead's heavy chassis landed back on the floor with a heavy thud.

The jarring sound started Rivet, making him lurch and fall to the floor.

His head hit the floor hard. A few gasps were uttered and the players crowded around Rivet, to see if he was alright.

The three Autobots running around the court, the sound of their feet clanking against the floor and the constant change of direction the ball was taking was a sensory overload for Rivet.

It reminded him too well of his harrowing experience with the Decepticons.

Memories came back to Rivet, memories he wished he could bury away for ever;

The crew running around the ship trying to evade the Decepticons, the sounds of feet and bodies hitting the floor, the constant stream of fire from the weapons of both sides.

The memories soon stopped flashing.

Rivet's vision blurred, his optics only able to register grey and white static.

His audio receptors only able to hear muffled sounds.

"I can't see!" Rivet cried out in distress and rubbed his head with his servo.

"Alright everybody, timeout. Give him some room." Ratchet brought the game to a halt, making the players disperse.

Ratchet's head turned towards Arcee.

"Arcee, can you please help Rivet to his feet and guide him towards the medical bay?"

Arcee nodded and took Rivet's servo and lifted him up to his feet.

"Hang on to my servo OK?"

"OK." Rivet replied with a hint of uncertainty. Everything had happened so fast that he barely had time to register what was going on.

Arcee guided Rivet slowly towards the medical bay, as he took small, slow steps.

Arcee and Rivet soon arrived at the medical bay. Arcee then led Rivet to an observation table.

"Sit down here, Rivet" Arcee addressed Rivet.

Rivet then complied.

"Thank you Arcee." Ratchet thanked Arcee as he gently took hold of Rivet's shoulders legs and lay him down on the table.

Ratchet scanned Rivet's body with his medical scanner. The red beam analyzing Rivet's condition.

"Your sparkrate is unusually high but other than that, you seem to be functioning within normal parameters." Ratchet declared.

Rivet said nothing, Ratchet's words somewhat alleviating his anxiety and distracting his troubled thoughts.

"So you said you couldn't see anything?" Ratchet asked for confirmation.

"Kind of. I can see static, but no clear images." Rivet acknowledged.

"Did you hit your head during the game?" Ratchet asked as he examined Rivet's face.

"No I didn't! Look it doesn't matter, so don't make a big fuss about it. I probably should have rested a bit longer and recovered from the crash that's all." Rivet made an excuse, feeling frustrated.

He really didn't want to talk about it all, let alone now.

"Rivet, it's my job to 'make a big fuss about it' and I know you're hiding something and I'm going to find out what it is." Ratchet informed him.

"I'm not hiding anything, I've told you all that I know." Rivet lied.

"Very well, you've left me no choice. If you don't tell me what you're hiding, I will never declare you fit for duty." Ratchet gave his ultimatum.

"WHAT?! Oh... that is _very_ well played Ratchet. Fine I'll tell you." Rivet sighed.

"When Bulkhead shot that goal it triggered memories of when I was aboard the energon ship the Decepticons attacked. It shocked me more than I realized.." Rivet admitted, his head dropping down.

Ratchet said nothing for a while. Despite years of experience, Ratchet was stumped.

He was always good at healing people with his actions, but not often with his words.

How was he meant to reassure a victim of something as traumatizing as war?

Ratchet placed his servo on Rivet's shoulder.

The touch brought a smile to Rivet's face.

"I know it's hard at first, but you've got us now and we'll do all that we can, to make sure nothing like that ever happens to you again."

Rivet's smile remained on his face.

"Thanks Ratchet." Rivet thanked the medic and closed his eyes and fell into recharge.

* * *

**Hi guys, thank you very much for reading this chapter.**


	5. Chapter Five: Injuries and friendship

**A new arrival**

Chapter Five

_**Injuries and Friendship**_

* * *

It was a quiet day in the Autobot base, when suddenly an energon signal appeared on the main computer screen.

"Optimus I'm picking up a large energon signal." Ratchet addressed Optimus Prime.

"Are there any Decepticons in the vicinity?" Optimus Prime asked the Medic.

"No." Ratchet replied in surprise.

Optimus Prime nodded.

"Ratchet open up a ground bridge, the rest of you come with me. We are going to need all of our resources to transport as much energon as we can."

Ratchet opened up a ground bridge and the group made their way to the location.  
Before going through the bridge though Rivet spoke briefly with Ratchet.

"Good luck on your first mission Rivet and try not to get injured." Ratchet wished Rivet luck.

"Thank you for caring about my well being."

"You're welcome but I'm serious don't take any unnecessary risks. Our energon supply is getting low and if any of you get wounded, I might not be able to treat you."

"Oh." Rivet replied in a disappointed tone, he knew that Ratchet cared for his well being but the grim news saddened him.

The group of Autobots then entered the ground bridge and arrived at their destination.

It was a vast canyon, many parts having been victim to erosion, revealing huge crystals of energon.

Arcee scouted the area and after giving the all clear, the Autobots harvested the crystals.

The Autobots slowly amassed an agreeable supply of energon, that was safely stored at the base.

Unfortunately the Decepticons' absence had been a ruse to lull the Autobots into a false sense of security.  
When the time was right the Decepticons appeared at the scene

The Autobots quickly reacted and picked their targets.  
Bulkhead picked Breakdown, Bumblebee and Rivet both picked a group of eradicons, Arcee picked Knockout, Optimus picked Megatron.

Rivet fought swiftly against the eradicons.

His light frame advantageous in this situation, making him nimble and more adept in defense.

Rivet inflicted quick series of punches at the eradicons.

The eradicons tried to hit Rivet with shots from their guns. Some of the shots meeting their mark and making Rivet cry in pain but Rivet dodged most of the firepower by flipping backwards and rolling across the floor.

Breakdown meanwhile rammed himself into Bulkhead and picked up a large loose rock that had come away from the canyon's structure.

Normally the huge mech would have finished Bulkhead off but seeing that his friend Knockout was having difficulty with Arcee, he threw the rock in her direction.

The rock was right on target and pinned Arcee to the ground. Knockout saw the opportunity and took out his saw. Rivet saw this and transformed into his vehicle mode, gained some altitude and rushed towards Knockout.  
He transformed in mid-air, extended his twin blades from his forearms and swiped at Knockout.

The blades met their target, making a sound reminiscent of nails scratching on a blackboard. The blades had prevented the saw from severing Arcee's head but had not been able to completely spare her from injury; The saw had cut Arcee's frame.

"You scratched my paint job! PREPARE TO DIE" Knockout announced furiously.

Before Knockout could achieve this, Optimus Prime sounded a retreat.

"Autobots fall back and return to base."

The sheer number of Decepticons had overwhelmed them.

"FLEE Autobots, like the cowards that you are and thank you for the energon." Megatron taunted cruelly, as the Autobots raced through the bridge.  
Rivet checked, made sure the others made it through, and then pulled out a detonator. He had taken a precaution and set charges around the canyon.  
Remembering what his former friend Siren had said, he couldn't help but smirk and say  
"Adios Decepticon punks"

{Click.}

{Boom!}  
The others had made it through safely. Arcee was clutching her side, and noticed Rivet hadn't come through the bridge yet. She was about to voice this when half a nano-klik later he came crashing through the bridge covered in dust and grime. He coughed stood up and dusted himself off. He seemed no worse for wear and still had steam coming off his armor. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he had done. Bulkhead walked up and patted the younger Bot on the back gently. He smiled at the recognition and went to Ratchet's lab to help with injuries.

Arcee was taken to the Medical bay earlier, and was still there when Rivet entered; Ratchet was busying himself with assessing her condition.

"The injury is not critical but it could potentially deteriorate. Since you require practical experience I'm making you in charge of the operation." Ratchet told Rivet.

"OK." Rivet replied in a resolute voice, and closed his optics for a nano-klik to focus and secretly protest in his mind. This was not what he expected to be his first practical experience on Earth, he had hoped he would start off performing an easy operation but then again, he knew that life wasn't easy.

Rivet turned towards Arcee.  
The blue femme was still conscious, but barely. Being pressed between a cliff and a boulder kinda had that affect.

"You can do it Rivet." Arcee encouraged him weakly, hand still clutching her wound.  
Rivet couldn't help, but remember Siren and how she had looked at her end. Shaking his head briefly to focus on what was happening now Rivet moved to Arcee to begin her repairs.  
"Thanks Arcee."

Rivet turned off Arcee's pain receptors, inserted an energon drip and induced her to recharge.

Rivet was touched by Arcee's faith but secretly he was panicking in his mind but he knew he had to focus; he cared too much for his fellow comrade to let his feelings interfere. Never again did he want to be in a situation where there was nothing he could do to save someone's spark.

Arcee had sustained moderate damage in her frame but had thankfully not hemorrhaged.  
Rivet sucked up the loose energon with a tube, applied pressure to the site of damage to prevent further bleeding and repaired the surrounding structures. He then welded her frame.

Rivet's quick intervention had prevented a spark threatening bleed and Arcee was in a stable condition, she did not need supervision so Rivet left the Medical bay.

Before he did this, Ratchet talked with him.

"You did well Rivet, you certainly exceeded my expectations. It is relieving to know that when I off-line, there will be a capable Bot to take care of the team."

"Thank you, Ratchet." Rivet thanked Ratchet with a smile, but silently praying to Primus that day would never come, because as far as he was concerned he still had a long way to go.

One solar cycle later, Rivet thought that it might be a good time to observe more of his new home. So he left the base, and went for a fly. He soon found an ideal location.

Rivet sat down over a cliff edge admiring his first Earth sunset.  
It was a beautiful composition of amber and yellow colors.  
Sighing softly he thought of his fallen friends and that eventually lead to his best friend Siren.  
"You would have loved this Siren. I miss you." Rivet whispered ruefully in memory of his fallen friend from Medical school.

Little did Rivet know that the exact location he had chosen was what Arcee considered as the place of Cliffjumper's memorial.

Arcee, who had picked this time to visit the memorial, had not been close enough to hear all that Rivet had said but had heard enough to understand that Rivet had lost someone very dear to him.

Arcee walked up to where Rivet was sitting and sat next to him.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Arcee said in a dreamy voice.

"Yeah, it is." Rivet replied looking at Arcee.

For a split nano-klik their optics met, they both subtly but quickly raised their optics away from the eye contact.

Their gaze had not lasted long enough but it conveyed that the two Autobots cared about each other. The day could not have ended any better.


	6. Chapter Six: A thrilling joyride

**A new arrival**

Chapter Six

_**A Thrilling Joy Ride**_

* * *

After seven solar cycles of studying with Ratchet, Rivet decided that it was time to have a bit of fun and to fulfill his promise to Miko.

Miko was playing her guitar, while Bulkhead danced to the beat.  
Rivet approached her and Bulkhead and waved.

"Hey you two."

"Hey Rivet." Bulkhead and Miko replied in unison.  
Rivet crouched down to be in level with Miko's face.

"Hey Miko, you still want that ride?"

"Duh, let's go." Miko exclaimed.  
Rivet smiled.

Rivet transformed into his vehicle mode, opened a door for Miko and she stepped inside.  
She put on a seat belt, Rivet closed the door.

"This is going to be SO cool." Miko cried excitedly.  
Rivet gained altitude and then took off and flew out of the base through the tunnel.

Once outside the base Rivet flew at his maximum speed, while Miko put her arms in the air as if it was a roller coaster ride.

'You want a real thrill Miko? I'll give you one.' Rivet thought to himself.  
Rivet feigned that his helicopter propellers were malfunctioning and stopped rotating them every few nano-kliks.

"Hey Rivet cut that out." Miko complained.

"I can't help it, the propellors are glitching."  
Miko started to look worried.

Suddenly Rivet plunged towards the ground.

"Miko the propellers have failed, brace for impact!" Rivet warned Miko.

"Oh no, can't you do something?" Miko asked anxiously.

"I don't know... we're going to hit the ground BRACE yourself!" Rivet yelled.  
2 meters before they hit the ground, Rivet rotated the propellors properly and rose back into the air.  
Miko was breathing hard and fast and then she realized what had happened.

"RIVET YOU SCARED ME!" Miko yelled at Rivet furiously and then wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry Miko, but I thought humans scared themselves for entertainment. I was only trying to entertain you." Rivet apologized sincerely.

"Thanks Rivet, don't worry about it, but for future reference it's only entertaining if we don't think we're about to die."

"OK."  
Rivet slowed down and then landed on the ground. Miko got out and Rivet transformed out of his alternate mode.  
Miko's eyes were still red, so Rivet crouched down and patted her on the shoulder.

"I promise I'll never do it again."  
Miko wiped her eyes, smiled and giggled.

"OK... I guess it was kind of cool in the end, I'll definitely remember it well" Miko admitted.

"Oh and please don't tell Bulkhead about it, otherwise he'll turn me into scrap metal." Rivet pleaded.

"It'll be our little secret. You know Rivet there's more than meets the eye about you, you are one fun bot." Miko told Rivet.

"Thanks Miko."

"Hey Ratchet! Can you please open up a ground bridge?" Rivet called Ratchet with his com-link.

A few nano-kliks later and a ground bridge materialized.

Rivet and Miko then went back to the base.


	7. Chapter Seven: Medical practice

**A new arrival**

Chapter Seven

_**Medical Practice**_

* * *

**(Please note that I wrote this before seeing Crossfire, so consider this story as taking place in an alternate universe where Crossfire doesn't occur and where Ratchet doesn't fix Starscream, because it wouldn't make sense to fix Starscream twice when Rivet fixed him in this chapter)**

**I like this chapter so much though, that I won't delete it.  
**

* * *

Before the Autobots took a ground bridge to the co-ordinates Starscream had given them, Ratchet gave instructions to the humans and then to Rivet.

"We need you to stay back at the base. If any of us get hurt, which is likely, we will be depending on you to repair us." Ratchet instructed Rivet gravely.

"I understand." Rivet replied.

"We are going to be there for a while, so if you get bored, you can always fix Starscream for medical practice" Ratchet said wryly and then went with the others in the ground bridge.

After the Autobots took the ground bridge, Rivet paced, while listening to Miko ranting about how unfair the situation sounded to her. Rivet stopped pacing and faced her.

"I know how you feel Miko, I wanted to go too. I feel like I always get left behind. Even a Medic like Ratchet gets to go but I know how to fight…I can handle it." Rivet sympathized with Miko.

"That may be true, but a Medic is a very important role, they need someone they can depend on. While you do have some fighting experience, you don't have as much as they do. You can do more good here." Rafael told Rivet.

"Right as usual Raf." Rivet agreed and then asked him to set a ground bridge from a previous destination.

Once Rivet arrived at Starscream's location, he noticed his prone chassis on the ground.

The Decepticon was recharging, one of his servos was clutching his leg, which was stained with energon. The wound was oozing out energon, as it was a deep wound and Starscream's servo was insufficient to plug it.

Rivet cautiously approached the seeker and extended one of his blades from his forearm. After all he was about to meet a potentially dangerous Decepticon and had no idea what Starscream was capable of.

'I am an Autobot, this is the right thing to do, there's nothing to be afraid of… besides I need practical experience.' Rivet told himself.

Starscream's optics suddenly opened, he gasped and was about to shoot Rivet, when Rivet held his blade to his throat.

"Don't…shoot…the…medic!" Rivet commanded slowly, placing emphasis on each word.

'Why do the Medics always get shot at?!' Rivet thought.

Starscream then lowered his arm and scoffed.

"Are the Autobots hiring sparkling as Medics now?!" Starscream laughed but soon regretted it.

"No they aren't, but I guess that if I'm a sparkling, I can't treat your wounds then."

Rivet concluded and then walked away from Starscream.

"NO! WAIT! I didn't mean it, please… come back" Starscream pleaded desperately.

"I'm sure you meant every word, but OK I won't leave."

Rivet turned off Starscream's pain receptors and then wiped his leg and patched up his wound with equipment from a medical kit he had brought.

"That other Medic acted surprisingly like a Decepticon, leaving me to rust like that… at least you…" Starscream complained and was interrupted by Rivet.

"Stop right there you sycophant! First of all I don't blame Ratchet for doing that, you deserved it and second of all I'm only helping you because it is the right thing to do and I need practical experience."

Starscream growled in frustration. Rivet then calculated how much energon Starscream had lost.

Rivet got a syringe out of the Medical kit and inserted it into his own arm, making him wince. After that he drew out some of energon and took out the syringe.

Starscream simply watched. Rivet then turned towards Starscream, gruffly grabbed his leg and injected the energon.

Starscream gritted his dental plates and glared at Rivet until the injection was over.

Starscream rubbed the injected area and complained.

"Do you always treat your patients this way?!"

Rivet simply smirked and put the syringe in the Medical kit. His task was now completed.

"Thank you Doctor." Starscream thanked Rivet with an acerbic tone.

"Don't mention it."

Before Starscream could transform, Rivet cried out.

"Wait! You have to wait 30 nano-kliks after a transfusion. You're still weak, you need to rest and let your chassis take in the energon. You don't want to off-line in mid air do you?"

"Fine, I will remain here." Starscream snapped and sat down with his arms crossed like a grumpy sparkling.

Rivet sat with him.

"You don't have to wait with me Autobot; I can take care of myself."

"Clearly, but it doesn't matter to me, besides the moment a ground bridge would appear you you would fly straight into it."

"Awww, you insult me Autobot, but you are right I understand." Starscream conceded.

As Starscream waited, he noticed that for once an Autobot had an aerial alternate mode.

"You Autobots do have sense after all... choosing a superior aircraft as your vehicle mode."

"You wish! Possessing the power of flight does not make any Bot have more sense and superiority Starscream" Rivet disagreed with Starscream.

Starscream silently sneered.

Once the 30 nano-kliks had passed Starscream prepared to leave but not before saying good-bye to the kind Medic who had helped him when everybody else had deserted him.

"Until next time, Doctor"

Rivet said nothing and watched Starscream fly away and then called Rafael to open a ground bridge for him.


	8. Chapter Eight: Trapped with the enemy

**A new arrival**

Chapter Eight

_**Trapped with the enemy**_

* * *

It was an uneventful day on the Nemesis.

Knockout was bored, there were only so many times a Con could buff himself, so he resorted to monitoring the computer screens like he was meant to while dwelling on his thoughts.

'I wish you were here Breakdown... I miss having someone to buff me.' Knockout thought sadly.  
Before he could torment himself further, a signal appeared on the screen.

Energon... LOTS of it. Knockout thought with greed and went to alert Megatron.

The energon signal was also brought to the Autobot's attentions, and so they made their way retrieve the energon.

By the time the Autobots arrived the Decepticons had already drilled many holes into the ground.  
The Decepticons saw the new arrivals and fired on the Autobots, and the Autobots fought back.  
As all the bots fought, Rivet found his target; Knockout.

He knew he wasn't meant to give in to anger but Rivet thought just this once, for Arcee and Siren...

'I know I'm not meant to kill Decepticons unless necessary, but Optimus never said anything against beating them up, till they looked like scrap, did he?' Rivet thought with malevolence.  
With his mind made up, Rivet charged at Knockout and uppercut punched him in the face.

"YOU!" Knockout screeched at Rivet in a malicious voice.

"Not so tough now, without your body guard Shiny." Rivet taunted.  
Knockout frowned and gritted his dental plates. silently seething with rage.

Before he could get his prod out, Knockout lunged at Rivet and stabbed him with his sharp finger tips.

Rivet cried out in pain and clutched his side to stop the bleeding.  
Knockout's grief and rage had awakened a somewhat beastly energy that Rivet had not anticipated.

The Autobots and Decepticons continued to fight over the energon. Unfortunately the Decepticons had been very zealous in drilling holes in the ground which had weakened it.  
Eventually all the pressure from the Transformers fighting and stomping caused the ground to give way.

Some parts of the ground collapsed inwards, luckily most of the Transformers either flew away or ran away to more stable ground. Knockout and Rivet were not so lucky and fell into a hole.

The hole was a relatively small one and slightly slanted, serving only to block the entrance with debris that hadn't fallen straight down the hole.

The two Transformers fell a long way until they hit solid ground. The impact did not damage them, but it sure hurt their afts.

It was pitch black. The two bots tried their com links but there was too much interference.  
Knockout turned on his headlights and looked around while Rivet turned on his flashlight and blessed his good luck that he had picked a helicopter with a flashlight as an alternate mode.

"The entrance is blocked, we'll have to remove the rocks slowly so they don't all fall on us." Rivet suggested.

"Whatever." Knockout said as he rolled his optics.  
'This is going to be sooo much fun.' Rivet thought as he extended his twin sabres from his forearms and Knockout brought out his saw.

"Nice sabres." Knockout scoffed but with a hint of sincerity.

"Nice saw" Rivet mimicked with the same tone.

The hostility between the two Cybertronians was evident

Knockout and Rivet worked silently, until the naturally social Knockout thought of something to complain about.

"Those blades made scratches that took, A WHOLE DAY to buff." Knockout complained.

"Yeah? Well that saw nearly killed one of the team members. You can't buff someone's spark back once they're gone." Rivet added to the argument angrily.  
Rivet's last statement then made the two Transformers fall silent.  
The two Transformers worked in silence. Since their weapons were not designed to cut rock they simply chipped away at the rocks.

"I wish your partner could be here, he'd get us out of here in no time." Rivet joked to Knockout to break the tense atmosphere.  
This only served to infuriate Knockout.

"Well he can't right now, because he's off-line." Knockout hissed.  
A few more nano-kliks passed.

"I'm sorry about your partner." Rivet offered his condolences to cut the silence.

"I don't need your sympathy, besides how would you know about something like that?"

"You assume too much, I may not have lived as long as you and met as many people as you but I lost someone close to me too." Rivet ranted.

'I've tried to keep calm but I'm allowed a little outburst once in a while.' Rivet thought  
Knockout's eyebrows raised and softened a little and the two Cybertronians continued to work in silence.

Meanwhile back on the surface the Autobots had determined that the safest course of action was to use the lightest Autobots (Arcee and Bumblebee) to pick at the rocks without risking a cave in.

Back in the hole, Rivet was struggling to work.  
Knockout had never given it a second thought but the wound he had inflicted on Rivet was starting to take its toll after a few megacycles.

It was a medium sized wound with occasional bleeding but over time the pain and the bleeding had accumulated and had weakened the Autobot physically and emotionally.  
Rivet retracted his blades and fell to the ground, he gritted his dental plates and a few drops of lubricant spilled from his optics.

'Not now, not now…not in front of HIM.' Rivet pleaded to himself to stop the lubricant from shedding.

He quickly wiped the lubricant and stood up once more, extended his blades and tried to chip the rocks.

But to no avail.

Knockout meanwhile had noticed Rivet's strength waning.

"Don't bother continuing, you'll only waste energon, just take a break." Knockout reasoned with Rivet.  
This only served to make Rivet hit the rocks harder and make his wound bleed more. He was going to prove to Knockout that he was still strong.

"Stubborn AND a glutton for punishment, those Autobots have had a negative influence on you." Knockout observed.

"It beats being with the 'Cons." Rivet quipped.

"Well this "Con" won't try to patch that wound then."

"Wait, YOU are a Medic?! Hahahaha…OH thanks for the laugh, it made me feel better."

"And what is so amusing about being a Medic?!" Knockout demanded to know.

'What a little brat.' Knockout thought.

"It's NOT amusing, I'm a Medic myself, but it's just so funny that a Con like you who hates to get dirty would become a Medic. After all, energon could get spilled on your beautiful paint job."

"That may be true, but I became a Medic because I wanted to help people, plus because I figured that being a Medic would be less messy than being a fighter." Knockout explained.

"Ah so it was for a conceited reason." Rivet realized.

"Shut up and let me fix you, so you can help me get out of here faster." Knockout ordered.

"Fine" Rivet conceded and sat down.  
Knockout inspected the wound, it was a wound composed of three holes, 3 centimetres in diameter with energon dripping from them.

"I don't have my medical tools with me but I can try to fuse the holes together with my prod. It will sting though" Knockout said with a slightly sadistic voice.

"Just do it."

Knockout first applied pressure to the holes to reduce the diameter and to seal them off.

He then took out his prod and held it down on one of the holes.

Rivet gritted his dental plates, his eyes closed as he grunted in pain from the searing heat.

Eventually he gave in, screamed and fell into recharge mode.

Meanwhile on the surface the Autobots heard a muffled sound.

"Rivet…"

Arcee opened up a com-link with Ratchet.

"Ratchet, any change in Rivet's vital signs?"

"Yes his spark rate has slowed, he is recharging." Ratchet replied.  
'At least he's not off-line.' Arcee thought, trying to make the best of the situation.

Meanwhile in the hole an hour later, Rivet was back online.  
He automatically reached for his wound. It was drier and smoother because of the welding.

"You did a good job Shiny." Rivet praised Knockout.

"Thank you, and my name is Knockout you know." Knockout thanked Rivet.

"I know, but the name I gave you is more fitting, since you look like you buff yourself so much."

"Oh I don't know, I knocked YOU out didn't I?" Knockout boasted.  
Rivet was taken aback, the red mech was right.

"Yeah I guess so." Rivet agreed.

"And what is your name?" Knockout asked.

"Rivet."

"I'll keep a note of it, the next time I need a favor." Knockout told him.

Suddenly a crack could be heard and a beam of light permeated the darkness. They were free!  
Once sufficient rocks had been cleared, the two bots climbed out of the hole and went back to their respective bases.

Rivet still hated Knockout's circuitry, but he had learned something today; it doesn't pay to always be angry at your enemies, because enemies always have the potential for change and may be of help to you if you treat them right.


	9. Chapter Nine: Hardships and healing

Chapter Nine

_**Hardships and healing  
**_

* * *

Set after the events of "Armada"

Please note that I wrote this before I saw Flying Mind so I didn't know that Bulkhead had already told the team about his adventure.

* * *

"…And then I dove right in there and punched the power core and BOOM!

The explosion sent me flying. Then the ship crashed and I drove back to the base as fast as I could." Bulkhead recalled his adventure on the Nemesis to the children, Bumblebee and Rivet.

"Cool!" Miko exclaimed.

"Did anyone see you?" Rafael inquired.

"Were you hurt?" Rivet asked.

"Yeah it WAS cool!

Yes Starscream saw me, it was strange because he could fly again, and I wonder whose T-cog he stole?

I was kind of hurt, a bit by the explosion but mostly from Starscream, he scratched me with those daggers he calls 'fingers'." Bulkhead replied to every inquiry.

"Well c'mon I'll patch you up in the lab." Rivet addressed Bulkhead and the two mechs walked towards Ratchet's laboratory.

Once they arrived, Rivet got a blowtorch and welded the scars on Bulkhead's frame.

"There you go, all done now." Rivet announced to Bulkhead.

"Thanks Riv'." The green mech thanked Rivet and walked away.

Rivet then stood in the laboratory and reflected on the events that Bulkhead had told them.

It certainly seemed exciting compared to his quiet day studying the Medical sciences.

Out of the corner of his optic, Rivet spotted Arcee wandering around the base with a dejected look on her face.

'I should go talk to her.' Rivet thought and then approached Arcee.

"Are you alright?" Rivet asked her gently.

"Yes I'm fine." Arcee tersely replied.

"Alright then." Rivet took the hint.

If there was one thing Rivet had learned during his life with Cybertronians and humans, it was that it was best to obey females and to give them space when they needed it.

However it was a tricky situation because sometimes they wanted to be left alone but wanted to talk simultaneously.

"Rivet...wait." Arcee called out to Rivet as he begun to walk away.

"Yes?" Rivet smiled mildly.

"I don't usually like to talk, but I feel so torn after today. I don't know whether to feel angry at Airachnid for all the harm she's caused, to feel glad that we captured her or to feel sad because we didn't capture her in time to save Tailgate."

Rivet pondered over her words for a few moments and then gave Arcee his answer, "I think you should allow yourself to feel all these emotions to some extent but to predominantly feel happy that she's gone now and won't ever harm anyone ever again and... that you have avenged Tailgate, the way he would have preferred you to."

Arcee looked up at Rivet and gave him a small smile.

"Thank you Rivet..."

"You're welcome Arcee." Rivet replied and went back to Ratchet's laboratory while Arcee went to see Jack to go for a ride.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and reviewing guys. I hope you are enjoying these stories.  
**


	10. Chapter Ten: Too many rookies!

**A new arrival**

Chapter Nine

_**Too many rookies!**_

* * *

Set during the events of New Recruit and The Human Factor.

* * *

Rivet was busy studying the formula for synthetic energon in Ratchet's laboratory one day.

When he wasn't studying the medical sciences, he was assisting Ratchet in deciphering and perfecting the formula to help Team Prime's goal of securing a steady supply of energon.

Rivet was an adept student and was very resolute when he studied, often entering a zone of nearly perfect concentration and not allowing petty distractions to distract him.

Rivet was so intrigued in his work that day, that he failed to hear the new Autobot Smokescreen enter the base and conversing with the other Autobots.

It was soon time for Jack Darby to show Smokescreen Ratchet's laboratory as part of the tour of the base.

"... and this is Ratchet's lab where he does his experiments and builds stuff and that's the medical bay where he treats the Autobots when they're injured." Jack gestured to the laboratory and medical bay.

"... and now we're going to see..."

"Hey wait a minute Jack! You haven't introduced me to that Autobot yet." Smokescreen cut Jack short and pointed to Rivet.

"Oh yeah! That's Rivet he's Ratchet's medical intern, he likes to study a lot..." Jack informed Smokescreen and explained Rivet's absence when Smokescreen first entered the base.

"Oh..." Smokescreen said in a disappointed tone.

After guarding and studying the Iacon relics for so long Smokescreen craved spending some time with a like minded bot of his own age that he could practice fighting with or racing.

But how could a nerd be interested in racing?

While Rivet's concentration was nearly impervious to auditory sounds, there were some sounds and words however that were always on Rivet's radar.

Rivet stopped his studying and then approached Jack and Smokescreen.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Rivet subtly apologized sarcastically to Smokescreen.

Smokescreen felt embarrassed inside, though he clearly didn't show it. Instead he saved the conversation by telling Rivet part of the truth.

"I'm not disappointed, I'm just surprised to see another young Autobot living in this base."

Jack sensing the tension between the two bots intervened.

"Uh Smokescreen you can get properly acquainted with Rivet later but right now you should check out... the basketball court! You don't want to miss out on that, would you?"

"I'd sure hate to miss out on that." Smokescreen replied with fake enthusiasm

Jack and Smokescreen then left the laboratory and went towards the basketball court leaving Rivet to continue with his studies.

* * *

**The next day...  
**

* * *

While Jack, Miko, and Agent Fowler were at Rafael Esquivel's house trying to hack into the Damocles satellite's mainframe and Optimus Prime, Arcee, Bumblebee and Smokescreen were avoiding the Damocles satellite's fire, Rivet was looking for a way to make himself useful.

Bulkhead who was feeling frustrated by the presence of the new rookie and wanting to improve his condition turned to Rivet for some help.

"Hey Rivet can you give me a hand?" Bulkhead called out to Rivet.

"OK." Rivet called back and left the laboratory and met up with Bulkhead.

"I want to get better so I can go on missions again and show Optimus that I'm better than that hot shot newbie Smokescreen. Can you hold me up while I walk?" Bulkhead explained.

"It would be my pleasure." Rivet said with a smug grin. The idea of assisting Bulkhead in besting Smokescreen appealed to him.

Bulkhead then leaned slightly on Rivet as he took gently and slowly too some small steps.

Rivet occasionally grunted from the exertion of supporting the wrecker's heavy chassis.

As Bulkhead continued to walk, Rivet made some observations and concluded that Bulkead's condition was improving.

Maybe I should persuade Ratchet to let Bulkhead go on a mission. Rivet thought.

"Good job Bulk, take five." Rivet praised Bulkhead and patted him on the back. Bulkhead's self esteem was at an all time low and Rivet knew it was important for him to realize his worth.

"Thanks Rivet." Bulkhead smiled and then limped away.

Rivet then went to talk with Ratchet.

Ratchet was typing on the touch screen and surveying the screens, making the screen beep in response to the actions he made.

"Ratchet?" Rivet asked.

"Yes." Ratchet replied.

"I think you should give Bulkhead permission to go on a mission." Rivet proposed.

"What?! But he's barely had a few days to recover. He isn't ready!" Ratchet cried out in outrage.

"But I've seen the way he walks, he's really improving." Rivet insisted.

"I won't allow it and that's final." Ratchet stated firmly, raising his voice a little to get the point across the persistent Autobot

Rivet's head sunk, his shoulders and servos slumping as he walked away from Ratchet trying to evoke a reaction of guilt.

Ratched sighed with exasperation, there was just no pleasing every bot. It was for Bulkhead's own good.

A few minutes passed and soon it was Bulkhead's turn to request permission to leave the base.

"Ratchet you've GOT to send me in." Bulkhead pleaded to Ratchet.

"So you can be an even _easier_ target?" Ratchet asked.

"You have yet to regain your full range of motion!" Ratchet reminded Bulkhead.

"But Breakdown's back! He's my arch enemy. C'mon even the kids are in on the action!" Breakdown protested.

Ratchet sighed with vexation and gave Bulkhead an offer. "Very well Bulkhead, you are cleared for duty."

Bulkhead closed his knuckle and retracted his arm in victory. He turned around and cried out. "YES!"

Ratchet raised on finger and interrupted Bulkhead. "A duty of MY choosing."

Bulkhead put his left hand on his head in a combination of confusion and disappointment. The contact making a clanking sound.

* * *

**A few hours later...**

* * *

The Autobots had successfully evaded the Damocles satellite's fire unscathed and Rafael had managed to control the satellite and it had thankfully crashed down on Earth.

While Bulkhead and Smokescreen spoke loudly of the Wrecker's battles in the base, Ratchet was in his laboratory grumbling.

"Of all the things... we have to deal with TWO rookies in the base. I'll never got a moments peace." Ratchet sighed and tried hard to concentrate on his laboratory work.

* * *

**Hi guys, thank you so much if you read this and Merry (late) Christmas!**


	11. Chapter Eleven: Better, Faster

**A new arrival**

Chapter Eleven

_**Better, Faster**_

* * *

Set _before_ the episode "Legacy"

* * *

It was a quiet day at the Autobot base.

No Iacon relic beacons had been activated recently and quite frankly some of the Autobots and at least one human were getting bored.

Ratchet and Optimus were not affected by this idleness and neither were Arcee, Bumblebee, Jack and Rafael.

The same could not be said for Bulkhead, Miko, Rivet and especially Smokescreen.

There was only so much monster truck watching, music listening and making Bulkhead and Miko could do.

Rivet was happy to study and do laboratory work, but after weeks of doing the same thing over and over again. It was starting to get monotonous.

The bot who was affected the most however, was Smokescreen.

It had been a thrilling two days for the Elite Guard soldier, ever since he had come out of the Decepticon escape pod.

Smokescreen had met his idol Optimus Prime, had been welcomed into his team, he had helped retrieve the Apex armour; a legendary Iacon relic and had survived an attack from one of the most powerful lazers he had ever witnessed.

Smokescreen's expectations were very high but now that there was nothing for him to do he was getting restless and bored and hungry for action.

So Smokescreen resorted to asking anyone who would listen to him to race him.

"Hey 'Bee! You wanna race with me?"

Bee replied with a series of high pitched beeps, clicks and whirs.

"You're playing chess with Rafael? OK have fun with that!"

If you can. Smokescreen thought to himself

Bumblee replied with beeps, clicks and whirs in an appreciative tone.

Asking Bulkhead was out of the question because he was still injured and Smokescreen had finally gained his respect and didn't want to risk losing it.

Smokescreen never even dreamed of asking Optimus Prime or Ratchet.

Arcee was driving with Jack so that only left only one bot... Rivet.

Smokescreen hadn't really interacted with Rivet often with all the events that had occurred and he didn't really seem like the racing type but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Smokescreen walked to Ratchet's laboratory where he found Rivet looking down at a sample of synthetic energon with a microscope.

This was going to take some charm, small talk and a bit of luck.

"Hi Rivet, what are you looking at?" Smokescreen asked curiously.

Rivet stopped looking at the sample and looked up at Smokescreen, it was a welcome distraction for him.

"I was looking at a sample of synthetic energon that Ratchet has been working on lately."

"Synthetic energon?" Smokescreen asked curiously.

"It's a manufactured version of natural energon. It gives the user enhanced strength, speed and reflexes." Rivet explained.

"That sounds cool." Smokescreen remarked. His plan was going along nicely, Rivet was talking to him freely.

"It is, if you also like the side effect of personality corruption" Rivet agreed with a wry smile.

Smokescreen went silent and decided to stop the small talk, change the subject and take a more direct approach.

"Hey Rivet, I don't suppose you want to race with me by any chance?"

"I thought you'd never ask! I've been waiting to fly against someone new for ages!" Rivet burst with enthusiasm and excitement.

"Awesome!" Smokescreen exclaimed.

"I know a good place where we can race, I'll just ask Ratchet to open up a ground bridge" Rivet told Smokescreen.

* * *

Smokescreen followed Rivet as Rivet walked towards Ratchet.

Ratchet was talking with Optimus Prime.

Despite bursting with impatience and excitement and wanting to ask Ratchet straight away, Rivet held his tongue and waited until there was a pause in Optimus' and Ratchet's conversation.

"May we speak with Ratchet privately for a moment, Optimus?" Rivet politely asked his leader.

"Yes you may." Optimus Prime gave the bots his permission.

"Yes what is it?" Ratchet sighed.

"Can you please bridge us to a road,where we can race?" Rivet retorted.

Ratchet grumbled and nodded.

He entered some co-ordinates and then lowered the ground bridge lever.

Smokescreen and Rivet chatted as they walked into the ground bridge.

"I hope you didn't take that synthetic energon to win." Smokescreen insinuated.

"Of course I didn't take it. I would have shut down for ages if I did." Rivet retorted.

Not that I need Synth En to beat you Smokey. Rivet thought to himself arrogantly.

"Take your time ladies!" Ratchet shouted sarcastically as the two bots went further into the bridge.

"Oh right, we should change into our alternate modes now." Rivet realized.

The two bots than did so and drived and flew respectively into the ground bridge until they arrived at their destination.

Back at the base Ratchet was smiling. Most probably relishing the peace that came from the two rookies leaving.

* * *

The two Autobots arrived at a road near Drucker's Ranch.

It was the same road that Arcee and Jack had used to race Vince to impress Sierra.

So what's your maximum speed?" Rivet asked. He wanted to check, even though he was certain he could beat Smokescreen.

"150 miles per hour and you?" Smokescreen replied with pride.

"You'll find out soon enough." Rivet replied.

"Hey I like that! A mystery speed. I hope you'll be able to keep up with me." Smokescreen said.

Rivet said nothing.

It will be you, who'll be struggling to keep up with me. Rivet thought.

Rivet lead the way and hovered above a line marker.

Smokescreen drove and placed himself adjacent to Rivet.

"We'll race to the next mile marker OK?" Rivet waited for Smokescreen's reply.

"OK."

"On the count of three... 3, 2, 1! GO!"

The two bots took off.

Smokescreen's tyres screeched, the force of his movement making the air rush; blowing dirt around from the dirt road.

Rivet's propellers whirled loudly as he pushed them to near maximum capicty.

For most of the race Rivet near the same position as Smokescreen to give him false confidence.

As they passed the halfway point Rivet sped up to one hundred and sixty miles per hour and flew past the mile marker, thus winning the race.

He had beaten the bot, who thought he was the fastest. Rivet felt so proud of himself at that moment.

Smokescreen soon arrived at the mile marker, engines roaring.

He then transformed back to his normal mode.

Rivet was standing near the mile marker waiting for him.

"Hey Smokescreen, did I mention that my maximum speed is one hundred and sixty _three?_" Rivet nonchalantly asked.

"Now you tell me." Smokescreen ruefully said.

He had never imagined that Rivet could ever have won, so his victory was a shock to Smokescreen.

Smokescreen bent his head low in shame, he liked to think that he was the fastest bot on the team.

It was the most despondent that Rivet had ever seen Smokescreen.

The bigger the ego, the harder it falls I suppose, Rivet thought with pity.

"Don't feel bad Smokescreen, my alternate mode is an emergency helicopter. They are _meant _to be faster than cars so they can transport people to a hospital as fast as possible." Rivet tried to cheer Smokescreen up.

Smokescreen lifted his head up and faced Rivet.

"OK but don't tell anyone about this! I have a reputation to maintain." Smokescreen demanded.

"And I don't?" Rivet asked with a hurt expression on his face.

"No! That's not what I meant, look if anyone asks we'll say it was a tie and that I let you finish at the same time as me." Smokescreen organized a plan that would cut losses to both their reputations.

"OK, whatever makes you happy." Rivet shrugged.

If giving up his victory meant he could make Smokescreen happy, then Rivet was happy to oblige.

Rivet then called Ratchet via his com-link.

"Ratchet? Can you please open up a ground bridge?"

"You're already finished?" Ratchet asked in a tone of surprise mingled with disappointment.

"A race goes fast and we were both pretty fast Doc." Rivet remarked.

"Don't call me that!" Ratchet protested.

Hey already had to deal with Wheeljack calling him that loathsome name, he didn't need Rivet to join in.

Rivet stopped pressing the com-link and laughed. Smokescreen joined in.

"Wheeljack told me that 'Doc' is Ratchet's least favourite nick-name. So I decided to try it out. It works like a charm."

A ground bridge portal then materialized in Smokescreen and Rivet's vicinity.

Smokescreen and Rivet then entered the groundbridge and the base with huge grins on their faces.

* * *

**Hi guys, thank you so much for reading.**

**Did you like the Daft Punk reference in the title? I couldn't resist using it after Ratchet got the Stronger, Faster title**

**I did some research on helicopters and I read that some helicopters can reach 200 MPH, the lowest figure I found for Rivet was 163.  
It is not too fast but it is still faster than Smokescreen's 150 MPH so it fit this chapter nicely.**

**I couldn't find what model of helicopter Rivet was, so his actual figures may be faster.**


	12. Chapter Twelve: Captured by Knockout

**A new arrival**

Chapter Twelve

_**Captured by Knockout  
**_

* * *

Set some time after "Stronger, Faster" and "Crossfire"

* * *

Megatron was standing in the command center of the Nemesis, overlooking the operations of his ship.

A few vehicons were talking near the controls, while others operated at their work stations.

Soundwave stood silently among them, making sure everything went smoothly.

While Dreadwing stood silently awaiting orders, like the loyal Decepticon he was.

The doors of the bridge opened and Knockout entered the room and approached Megatron.

"My liege." Knockout addressed his leader.

"Yes, what is it Knockout?" Megatron replied.

If there was one thing Megatron disliked, it was listening to Knockout's petty complaints.

"I have recreated a sample of the synthetic energon." Knockout informed him.

"Good work, Knockout." Megatron praised Knockout. The news, a surprise to him.

"But there is a _slight_ problem." Knockout pinched his fingers together as a visual aid to indicate the scale of the problem.

"Go on." Megatron said coldly.

Knockout gulped.

"I can't find anyone to test it on." Knockout gathered his courage and blurted out.

Megatron's brow raised slightly.

"The Eradicons refused to help me, of course you could order them to co-operate..." Knockout suggested.

"We all have to make sacrifices Knockout, but I will not undermine their loyalty to me for your little project." Megatron reminded Knockout.

"Well I did have something else in mind." Knockout offered.

"Yes?" Megatron asked with interest.

"With your permission of course, I was hoping to leave the Nemesis and lure the Autobots with a distress signal and to capture one of them."

"You would never succeed. You are only squandering your time, for a simple lab rat Knockout. " Megatron criticized Knockout's plan.

"But I know a bot worth the effort, with guaranteed success!" Knockout assured his leader.

"Who did you have in mind?" Megatron asked with interest.

In all the time that Megatron had been acquainted with Optimus Prime's team, he had never met a bot that he believed could be easily captured.

"The newest member of Prime's team. A young medic with limited fighting experience.

If I pretend to be damaged, then he would be the one they would _have _to send out first.

An easy target and an easy success and I could also use a cortical psychic patch to draw out the location of the Autobot's base out of him. Would that please you, my liege?" Knockout inquired.

"Indeed it would. Make the necessary preparations and leave swiftly. Report to me as soon as you extract the location of the Autobot's base." Megatron ordered Knockout.

"I understand Lord Megatron." Knockout acknowledged.

Knockout then approached a group of Eradicons who were talking amongst themselves.

"You four! Come with me, I need an ambush team." Knockout called out and pointed to the group.

They all nodded and followed Knockout to the energon vault.

"Take one energon cube each and one for me and then follow me." Knockout ordered

The Eradicons complied and then followed Knockout.

They then left the nemesis and drove quickly to a nearby forest.

Once there Knockout and his ambush team walked around the forest until they found a clearing.

Knockout got his prod out and pressed it against a tree in many areas, the constant charge of electricity leaving burn marks on the bark resembling blaster shots. He then proceeded to do the same thing to more trees.

The Eradicons scattered energon everywhere and smeared some on their bodies to feign injury.

Knockout admired his work and gave an order to the Eradicons. "You can't hide your energy signatures but you can take them by surprise. Now form a perimeter and wait for my signal."

The Eradicons obeyed and placed themselves behind the trees surrounding the clearing and lay down on the ground.

Knockout then took his turn to lie on the ground. He took out his prod and placed it next to him and smeared energon on himself and sent a message to the Autobots with a weak voice. "Knockout calling Autobots... M.E.C.H have attacked us... ugh... require... medical assistance. We have nothing to offer you... please come anyway..."

* * *

A ground bridge soon materialized in the clearing.

Having the foresight of anticipating a trap, Optimus Prime sent out a team of three bots consisting of Rivet, Arcee and Bulkhead for medical assistance, scouting and backup respectively.

Arcee scanned the clearing and read out the reading to Rivet "I'm detecting five energy signatures scattered through the clearing. Bulkhead and I will check out. It could be an ambush. You treat Knockout over there."

Arcee pointed to Knockout lying on the grass and went with Bulkhead to investigate.

Rivet approached Knockout and placed his patch kit on the grass.

Rivet observed that Knockout was conscious and clutching his frame, fingers stained with energon.

"Thank you... for coming." Knockout uttered.

"Don't mention it." Rivet replied in a neutral tone and turned around to retrieve equipment from his kit.

In that moment when Rivet took his eyes off Knockout, Knockout picked up his prod and and pressed it against Rivet's back rendering him unconscious.

Knockout rose and taunted to Rivet's unconscious form. "Never take your eyes off the _enemy."_

Knockout then picked up Rivet and placed him on his shoulder and yelled out, "I NEED COVER!"

Knockout then made his escape with Rivet on his shoulders while the Eradicons fired at Arcee and Bulkhead.

* * *

Rivet woke up to the sight of the Knockout's laboratory.

Rivet looked down and to his horror saw that he was shackled to a table.

_Oh...scrap! I think this is Knockout's dissection table._ Rivet thought with misfortune.

Rivet turned his head and saw Knockout fill up a syringe with synthetic energon. Things were not looking bright.

Knockout approached Rivet, syringe in hand. The tip of the needle blending in with Knockout's talon like fingers.

"I'd be lying if I said this wouldn't hurt a bit, so I won't say it."

"This is going to hurt a _lot_." Knockout said, his face a few centimeters away from Rivet's own, infusing fear into the Autobot.

Knockout took hold of Rivet's arm and injected the synthetic energon into it with the syringe.

Rivet grunted in pain.

Rivet's cyan blue optics began to fill slowly with green light. Rivet closed his eyes in pain and passed out.

* * *

**Hi guys, thank you very much for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoy the suspense :)**


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Back to normal

**A new arrival**

Chapter Thirteen

_**Back to normal**_

* * *

"Rise and _shine_." Knockout sang out cheerfully.

Rivet opened his optics, his blurred vision slowly coming into focus until a red and white face entered his vision.

Rivet, incensed by Knockout's voice gritted his dental plates and frowned, he fought against the shackles.

Rivet's enhanced strength easily cracking the metallic shackles as he broke free.

"Uh oh... I believe the formula worked a little too well."

Rivet charged at Knockout, grabbed him by the throat and slammed him to the ground.

Knockout groaned and began to rise.

Before Knockout could get to his feet, Rivet lifted him up and held a blade to his throat.

"You are going to delete all your findings for the formula of synthetic energon from your database."

"And if I _refuse?" _Knockout tested Rivet.

"I'll use you, to sharpen my blades." Rivet threatened

"OK, OK!" Knockout put his hands up, in an attempt to appease Rivet.

Rivet lowered his blade slightly and turned Knockout around with his arms to the direction of a computer.

Keeping his blade steady and prodding Knockout to keep him moving.

"Hey! Watch the finish!" Knockout complained.

"Keep moving."

Rivet and Knockout walked until they approached a computer terminal.

Knockout tentatively pressed some keys on the keyboard.

"Hurry up! I don't have all day and I've seen most of the formula so don't try keeping any files because I'll know that you're trying to trick me."

Knockout growled and began erasing the data from the computer, with Rivet keeping a close eye on him.

Knockout soon finished his task, he declared that fact to Rivet, spitting out the words. "There! It's done."

"Much obliged, _Doctor." _Rivet gave his thanks maliciously and then dragged Knockout away from the computer by the shoulders and punched him in the face._  
_

The blow sending Knockout flying to the floor unconscious.

Rivet then left the laboratory and explored the Nemesis, wounding any Vehicons he encountered on his way until he found the landing pad on the Nemesis.

Rivet transformed, rotated his propellers and then took off in the direction of the base.

* * *

Rivet arrived into the base with an angry countenance and a few drops of energon on his face from the Vehicons he had wounded.

Ratchet approached him, the concern evident on his face. "Rivet are you alright? Did they hurt you?" Ratchet asked, seeing the energon on his face.

"I'm fine, just leave me alone, I didn't tell them anything, so there's no need interrogate me. If that's what you're wondering." Rivet snapped, storming away from Ratchet.

"Your _welcome." _Ratchet grumbled under his breath, his complaint barely audible.

Ratchet then tried to catch up with Rivet. "Allow me to examine you, at least."

Rivet turned around and made his point clear. "I said, I'm FINE!"

Ratchet noticed Rivet's green optics and gasped quietly. "They tested synthetic energon on you..."

Ratchet then grabbed Rivet by the wrist. "You have to allow me to remove the synthetic energon from your body..."

Rivet faced Ratchet slowly and said in a threatening tone. "I like being stronger. I'm staying like this forever and you can't stop me."

Rivet tore away from Ratchet's grip and slammed Ratchet's own servo into his face, energon dribbling down his face from a fresh cut.

Ratchet quickly wiped his face and cried out. "Bulkhead! I could use some assistance!"

"I'm coming Doc!"

Bulkhead charged towards Rivet, his servo transforming into his round, wrecking ball.

He jumped into the air and slammed his wrecking ball down on Rivet's head, knocking him to the ground and into unconsciousness.

"I had hoped that nobody else would suffer the same fate as I..." Ratchet said sadly.

"Can you please carry him to the medical bay?" Ratchet asked Bulkhead.

When it came to carrying patients, even the lightest ones. Ratchet preferred it when Bulkhead did the heavy lifting.

Bulkhead picked up Rivet and Ratchet walked along with him to the medical bay.

"OK Doc. Gee I really hope he doesn't remember that when he wakes up."

"Even if he did. He's a good bot and would probably forgive you." Ratchet smiled as he said this.

* * *

When they arrived at the medical bay, Bulkhead placed Rivet gently on one of the beds.

Ratchet then removed a large amount of synthetic energon from Rivet's body with a suction tube and replaced the removed amount with a large dose of normal energon.

Two hours later and Rivet opened his optics. A familiar red and white medic entering his vision.

"You know Rivet, for an Autobot studying to become a medic, you spend more time _being_ treated than treating others." Ratchet remarked.

Rivet sighed and rubbed his optics. "That's true Doc."

Rivet looked up at Ratchet's face and noticed a small cut on the right side of his face. "Ratchet that cut... I'm sorry."

"The synthetic energon was influencing you. It's OK Rivet, I forgive you. I've survived far worse. This is _nothing_ compared to being nearly eaten alive by scraplets."

"Woah! You survived a scraplet attack?!" Rivet asked with curiosity.

"Don't sound so surprised! I'm capable of defending myself." Ratchet claimed with pride.

"Can you please tell me more about it?"

And so Rivet spent a considerable amount of time listening to Ratchet's tale of the time the team was attacked by a swarm of scraplets and saved by the children on a Saturday morning.

* * *

**Hi guys thank you for reading this chapter.**

**I've been watching some Transformers Prime episodes again, so I decided to insert a little reference at the end and a variation of a Bumblebee quote from Nature Calls from Transformers Animated :)  
**

**This is just a theory, but it is my understanding that synthetic energon enhances your strength and reflexes but also exacerbates a bot's worst qualities and brings out their hidden ones.  
**

**In Ratchet's case his hidden behaviour was flirting with Arcee, saying offensive things that had been on his mind for some time to Optimus, being ruthless with the Eradicon (although he does leave Starscream for scrap later on).  
**

**His patience, temper and treatment to others was also exacerbated. What do you guys think?  
**


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Weather nuisance

**A new arrival**

Chapter Fourteen

_**Weather nuisance**_

* * *

It was hot afternoon in Jasper, Nevada one day. There had been no signs of Decepticon activity recently so the Autobots and the children remained in the base.

One particular Autobot that day, was not tolerating the weather very well, at Autobot Central Command.

Ratchet was busy re-calibrating the ground bridge, when his knees dropped a little and he winced, the action making his joints creak slightly and an audible grumble leave his vocal processor.

The heat had aggravated his aging joints.

"This planet NEVER gets it right! The temperature is either frigid cold or scorching hot!" Ratchet complained to no one in particular.

Rivet, who was wandering around the base heard Ratchet's bemoaning and went over to see him.

"Hey Ratchet, are you... OK?" Rivet hesitated.

Ratchet's health was always a touchy subject and Rivet knew that despite being a physician, Ratchet had little interest in discussing his own health with another practitioner.

"Never better." Ratchet curtly replied.

"Maybe you should take a break." Rivet kindly suggested.

"Not until I've finished re-calibrating the ground bridge." Ratchet sharply replied, instantly terminating the conversation.

"Hey Riv! Come over here for a minute." Miko cried out to Rivet, saving Rivet from an awkward departure.

"Coming Miko!" Rivet called back and briskly made his way to where Miko was sitting on the sofa with Jack and Rafael.

"Hey Rivet?" Miko asked.

"...Yeah?" Rivet cautiously said.

I don't like where this is going, Rivet thought.

"Can you do us a favour and spin those propellers of yours? We're really hot and we could use some air conditioning."

"Uh OK!" Rivet replied, figuring that it would only be for a few minutes."

So Rivet turned his back to the children and spun his propellers slightly to create a cool breeze.

"Ahhh, thanks Rivet." Miko sighed in appreciation.

Rivet assumed that Miko would speak up when she no longer required the air conditioning, but a long silence made him think that he had silently consented to provide air conditioning for as long as the kids desired it.

I should have read the fine print, Rivet thought to himself.

"I'm nearly a fully qualified medic, from an advanced race of autonomous beings, with technology far beyond your own and what am I reduced to doing? Air conditioning." Rivet exclaimed.

"HAR HAR!" Ratchet laughed.

The kids heads turned towards Ratchet, as it was a rare occurrence for the grouchy mech to laugh.

Ratchet's optics were opened wide, he averted his gaze from the children and pretended to cough and look at his monitor.

"Can I take a break _now_?" Rivet complained.

"Nope."

"Ugh. I can't wait for winter to come." Rivet said out loud to himself.

Ratchet secretly smirked to himself, although he didn't take much pleasure in other's misfortunes, it still lifted his mood to know that someone else was feeling the same as himself in this horrid weather.

* * *

**It has been above 30 ºC, for the past two days and I've been saving this story for a hot day, so here it is.**

**This is my final story, that I had planned in my head. It's all I ever planned to write without any new inspiration.**  
**Oh and thank you year 8 science for that useful piece of information about metals expanding when it's hot and my three year bachelor of science for informing me about arthritis.**


End file.
